Marketplace Tech

The U.S. government doesn't want 5G tech that’s made in China

November 30, 2018

Everybody wants 5G, the superfast next-generation wireless technology. And Huawei, the giant Chinese electronics maker, is the world's largest supplier of 5G networking equipment. But the U.S. government banned Huawei and Chinese company ZTE from its telecom infrastructure back in 2012 because of concerns that the Chinese government could use the equipment to spy on companies and government agencies. This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States has been trying to convince foreign allies to also dump Huawei.
The warnings about Huawei's equipment might be working. On Wednesday, New Zealand banned the company from its telecom infrastructure. Australia did the same back in August, and the United Kingdom yesterday warned Huawei to tighten up its security overall. Stu Woo, one of the reporters who wrote the story in the Journal, tells Molly Wood that the thing that makes 5G so useful is also the thing that makes it so insecure.
Today's show is sponsored by Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage.